Good Karma Local author Whitney Stewart has been making a career of writing biographies for children, choosing subjects who are famous but about whom most of us know much less than we should. Her latest, "The 14th Dalai Lama: Spiritual Leader of Tibet," part of the Newsmakers series, is a fascinating glimpse into the life of the Nobel Peace Prize winner who has carried on a lifelong non-violent crusade to restore Tibet to its people. One of 16 children, of whom seven survived, Lhamo Thondup was born in a cowshed to farming parents. Two years previously the 13th Dalai Lama had died, and according to Buddhist belief he would be reincarnated. When the boy was 3 years old, and various signs and portents had shown that he would be the next Dalai Lama, he was taken to Lhasa to live in the 1,000-room Potala Palace, where he would begin the rigorous training required to be the civil and spiritual leader of Tibet. But when he was 15, Communist China invaded Tibet, and the Dalai Lama was forced to assume the leadership of the country from his regent, years before he should have. But there was little the Tibetans, a peaceful people with a minuscule army and no modern weapons, could do against the onslaught of the Chinese, who were determined to take over the country. Eventually forced to flee to neighboring India, the Dalai Lama formed a government in exile, as well as settlements to care for the tens of thousands of Tibetan refugees fleeing the cruel and repressive Chinese conquerors. From his center at Dharamsala he has continued for nearly 40 years to fight for his country's freedom. Though the story certainly has its tragic aspects, Stewart's recounting is filled with the hopeful optimism of the Tibetan leader himself. While the earlier chapters dealing with the Dalai Lama’s childhood and youth are interesting, especially the section recounting the ways the Lamas ascertained that this young boy was, in fact, the one they were seeking, the story becomes truly gripping when the Chinese invasion begins. It is at this point, when he becomes the true leader of the Tibetans, that the qualities which have made him so respected and loved the world over begin to emerge. The author tells the story straightforwardly, but with an obvious fondness and admiration for her subject. The book has many photographs and a bibliography, though the latter unfortunately does not include any books on Buddhism for children, a subject about which many readers are likely to want to know more. This is a fascinating introduction to a man, a history, and a culture too often neglected in our children's education. |
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